The Snape Legacy
by Jade Aestas
Summary: This is a story about a niece of Severus Snape named Sarah. Slightly alternate universe here Sarah is at Hogwarts the same time as Harry. She finds out she's a witch just like her uncle Severus and decides to run away so she can go to Hogwarts.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, the universe they're in, or the general plot motions that go along with our good friend Harry. I do own this Sarah Snape, so no stealing that idea, k? Thanks to JK Rowling for not suing this cute little fangirl for posting! xoxo

20 June 2007

by: Jade Aestas

The Snape Legacy

This is a story about a niece of Severus Snape named Sarah. Slightly alternate universe here- Sarah is at Hogwarts the same time as Harry. She finds out she's a witch just like her uncle Severus (who she's only ever heard stories about) and decides to run away from her abusive father to find him so she can go to Hogwarts (she's received the letter).

* * *

Sarah Snape stared in horror at the letter in her hands. All her life she had heard the snide and even dark comments voiced by her father about her Uncle Severus—a man she had never met. Her cousins spoke among themselves too- calling him a freak, a failure and telling stories of how Granddad Snape had tried to beat it out of him, but to no prevail. 

Sarah knew all about beatings. The infamous Snape temper ran true in her own father and she had felt his heavy hand flash fire across her face and his belt upon her back more times than she could count, but the letter in her hands spelled far more trouble for her than a single back-handed strike if he ever found out.

If her father found out that she had the same abnormality (as he called it), the same disease as Uncle Severus, his fury wouldn't stop with a few lashes. She felt a chill crawl up her spine and flood her cheeks- he might kill her.

That thought goaded her into action. Stuffing the letter into a torn pocket in her jeans, she shot to her feet and began to throw her few possessions into a filthy bag she found underneath the old mattress that served as her bed.

A glance around Sarah's room would have shocked any half-decent housewife. Though tidily kept due to her innate sense of orderliness, it, like the rest of the house, was a decaying mess of mangy furniture and threadbare clothes. As Sarah snuck through the family room toward the door, hoping her father was too absorbed in watching the telly to see, she stopped to touch the cracked wall. Here a small patch of dried blood still marked the spot she had hit with her head the last time he had gotten angry with her. It had taken three stitches to put her head to rights. That memory closed about her now, pushing back all thoughts of hesitation or fear. She was going; she was **not** coming back. Not even the tale she had heard of how Severus had used his sorcerous powers against Granddad Snape scared her more than the thought of what her father would do to her if he found out that she too had magic.

* * *

Severus Snape sighed in vexation, a frown creasing his brow as he swept down the path away from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Not even the joy of being away from that horrible Potter boy-- with his hateful smile just like James' and the eyes like beautiful Lily's-- for a whole summer could overcome the trouble Headmaster Dumbledore had laid at his feet. 

The letter from Albus clenched in his fist, he strode out the gates of the castle and away to where he could Apparate home. Thinking of home, he clenched his fists again. _Damn him_, he thought as he paced. He had meant Dumbledore, but as the thought flashed in his mind, the face that came to him instead was that of his filthy, muggle father. The only thing Professor Snape hated more than James Potter (and now his son, Harry) was his own father. _Being beaten by someone every day of your life will do that to you_ he reminded himself. The moment he had come of age at 17, Severus had broken all ties with his family, even from his mother- a witch herself. Why should he talk to someone who had let her husband beat her child all his life, he had thought. But now, the past was catching up to him.

_Dear Severus,_

_I am pleased to inform you that your niece, Sarah Snape has been accepted to Hogwarts and will arrive next fall. I am giving you the responsibility of ensuring she arrives safely and with all the things she will need. As you well know, her parents will not be open to the idea, and it will be up to you to smooth things over with them, and take her to Diagon Alley._

_Sincerely,_

_Albus Dumbledore_

_Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

Snape snarled and turned on his heel to face the castle. Why in the name of magic did Dumbledore have to interfere? Why was it Snape's lookout if this little girl had trouble with her family accepting her magic? He wanted nothing to do with the Snapes! But then he sighed in defeat. As headmaster, Dumbledore had the right to ask any staff member to help in locating and assisting any muggle-born student- Dumbledore had done it himself many times as a teacher. Tomorrow, he would seek out this Sarah Snape.

Turning around again, he strode the last few steps out of the castle grounds and vanished.

* * *

Sarah first look at her uncle was not promising. To start with, he looked far too much like her father to be at all comforting, and the deep frown on his face the moment he opened the door did not help matters. But she had come too far to go back, and so she lifted her chin as high as she could without wincing from the anticipation of a blow, and said, "Uncle Severus?" 

She could tell immediately that it was the wrong thing to say.

"What are you doing here, girl?" he snapped.

"Please, Uncle," she said with a cringe, "I have m...magic"

"I know" he said more calmly, but with a look of indifference, "you received your letter, then?"

"yes, sir" she replied, holding it out for him to see. Was he not going to hit her then? A glimmer of hope sparked in her heart. Of all the strange stories she'd heard of this man, none of them had mentioned him beating anyone. She had always thought that was because it was to be assumed that any male of the Snape family hit, but now she wondered if she'd been mistaken. Any of her other uncles would have had her begging for mercy by now, provided they hadn't simply locked her up for her father to deal with.

"Please, Uncle," she tried again, a bit braver this time, "I have nowhere else to go." That was not a lie, exactly. If either of her parents found her now, and learned why she had fled, a beating was the best she could hope for, after which they would probably kick her out themselves.

"I have no desire to keep you here," Severus said in a hard voice, "I am a professor, not a babysitter. Tell Dumbledore I said no!" and he began to close the door.

"Who is Dumbledore?" Sarah cried desperately as she tried to stop him from shutting her out, "no one told me to come here, I ran away!"

Severus stopped. Opening the door again, he regarded Sarah for a moment. Finally, he said quietly, "Ran way? Why?"

Sarah stared at him as if he'd suddenly sprouted wings. Was he demented? "Surely," she said as if she could not believe her ears, "surely you're joking?" Before he could say anything she ran on, "Surely you don't mean to tell me that you don't know why a person with _magic,_" she spit out the word like a curse, "would run away from a family of Snapes!"

"I..." he began, still looking indifferent.

"I've been beaten for sitting in the same _room_ as my father, simply because his favorite team lost the football game!" she cried, her voice a bit shrill, "See this?" she pulled up her sleeve so he could see the long, wide scar that ran from her wrist almost to the inside of her elbow, "I got _this_ when I was six because I tripped over his beer can and accidentally broke my mother's favorite vase! He locked me in his closet for three days that time, _three days_ until he forgot about feeding me and I began to cry, and then he beat me for crying!" She stared at Severus. Tears she didn't notice were falling down her face.

"And the stories say you got worse," she whispered, "my cousins say it was only the mercy of Grandma that saved your life when Granddad learned you were going to Hogwarts."

He flinched then, remembering himself how his father, her grandfather had reacted when he'd found the letter. His mother had given up magic when she married a muggle. Severus gazed down at his niece in a new light. For all the beatings he had received as a child, he had never once tried to run away. Cowardly as it might seem, he had bided his time until finally, when he reached his majority, he had simply disappeared. But Sarah was different. Albeit, she had known where to flee too, but it had taken guts to just up and leave, with no preparation at all; she must have gotten her letter no more than a day ago.

"How did you get here?" he asked quietly, still thinking.

She blushed, "I got lost," she admitted, wiping away the tears she now realized were on her cheeks, "I stuck out my thumb to get a ride, and a magical bus popped out of nowhere and picked me up."

"The Knightbus," her uncle murmured and she nodded.

"Come in" he ordered her finally, "I'll get you some tea." Sarah looked startled for a moment, and then nodded. Picking up the dirty bag she'd dropped, she entered his house.

The entrance was small but in good condition, she noticed. Though the place seemed to be in the same sad state as her old home as far as things left laying about, the floor and walls were in good order, and the furnishings were used but well kept. Looking to her right, she watched her uncle as he put the pot on to boil and brought down two clean cups from a shelf above the stove. "I can help clean," she stated suddenly. The words fell out of her mouth without her thinking first, but as they did, she agreed with them. She would not be a burden.

"Beg your pardon?" he said with a small frown and she realized it must have sounded as though she thought he needed it.

"I just meant," she blushed, "I just meant I will help you. I am a good housekeeper, and I can cook a little," she repeated, "I'll help you in return for room and board."

"Very well," he sighed in resignation, "I will make up the guest room for now. You may stay until September and the start of school. After that," he paused, thinking, "after that we will discuss with Dumbledore what he thinks is best."

"Dumbledore," she mused, "you mentioned him before. Who is he?"

"Albus Dumbledore is the headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," her uncle told her, "and I am the Potions master there."

"You're a professor?" she asked him. When he raised an eyebrow, she blushed again, "all I know about you is that your life was," she paused, "that it was very similar to mine, and that you're a wizard."

"Yes," he replied, "I am a professor at Hogwarts as well."

"What is Potions exactly?" She asked him as he poured her tea.

"It is the fine art of blending objects, ingredients and magic, as well as will power and imagination, into new and powerful substances." he said softly, "Potions is a very powerful subject."

"It sounds wondrous," Sarah said in an awed voice. Then she yawned and Severus realized that it was nearing 11 o'clock- far too late for an 11-year-old girl who had spent most of the day running in fear of her own parents.

"It is," he agreed, "but now you must sleep, and we will speak again in the morning." Standing, he showed her the way to his guest room, and also where to brush her teeth before bed. Then, as she slipped into the room and shut the door, he went downstairs and took out a piece of parchment.

_Dear Dumbledore,_

* * *


	2. Chapter 2

The Snape Legacy, Chapter 2

The moment Sarah flopped backwards onto the bed she knew she would not be able to sleep. She could hardly believe what had just happened! If she had spoken like that to her father she probably wouldn't have seen daylight for weeks. But instead of getting furious with her, or blasting her where she stood with his wand (as she had secretly feared), he had agreed with her, and even let her in the house. And now she was laying in the first real bed she had ever touched, full of that soothing tea he had poured, and watched over by the one person in all of Europe that her father would never challenge. Finally, she was safe.

She awoke the next morning as the smell of fried eggs wafted into her room. Sitting up, she felt disoriented for a moment, and then, as she began to remember the last 24 hours, she stood quickly and threw her old jeans on before venturing out of her new room.

The sun hit the settee as it faced the east windows and Sarah saw at an angle how very dusty the furniture was. Wandering into the kitchen, she watched in awe for a moment as a bespelled pan seemed to fry eggs all on it's own before she grabbed a rag from the counter and began to straighten and dust around the parlour.

Her uncle swept into the room moments later, pausing to observe her as she briskly cleared away several inches of dust from a nearby light fixture. "You are not a house elf," he said suddenly in what she was coming to understand were his usual irate tones.

"What _is_ a house elf?" she asked curiously, still cleaning.

"They are small magical servants who do such menial chores as you now are doing," he explained evenly.

"Well, you obviously don't have one, Uncle," she replied waspishly, "or I would have no need to do this."

He was silent for a long moment, and Sarah was forcibly reminded again of the infamous Snape legacy-- a hot temper.

"If you are to live here," he said finally, in a biting tone, "you will learn the proper way to address me."

"And what is that?" she asked, pretending to be unimpressed. She had come from one bullying family, and wasn't about to be pushed around by another!

"You will call me Snape_. Professor_ Snape, while we are at Hogwarts,"

"But my surname is Snape also," she replied sensibly, "we can't go around forever calling each other 'Snape this', 'Snape that'."

"What about Uncle Severus?" she asked thoughtfully. Then, seeing his face she amended quickly, "Or just Uncle. And _not_ at school."

He regarded her for one moment with a sneer on his face that reminded her far too well of her mother's face when she looked at Sarah. But then it softened minutely and he said, "I suppose it is too late to deny any familial attachment here. Very well, you may call me Uncle, but _not_ in front of your classmates. _Ever_."

"Yes, Uncle," she replied obediently.

"Now finish the dusting. We have a long way to travel today, if we are to get to Diagon Alley without Apparating."

"Apparating?"

"It is a spell used to move instantaneously from one physical point to the next," her uncle said with a sigh of annoyance.

"Sorry, Uncle," she said, ducking her head.

"While we are there, we shall visit Flourish and Blott's and purchase your spell books for the year. From then on you will direct your questions to _them_." he said sternly, "I teach all year long, and have no wish to continue on holiday."

"Yes, sir," she said humbly. And turning, she swept the dust rag over the lamp one more time.

Their journey to Diagon Alley was uneventful. Although Sarah had never seen much of London, living as she did in Sussex, she kept her mouth shut as she surveyed the streets they passed through. But when her uncle turned to step into a dark and dirty tavern between two shops, she did comment, "it doesn't look like anyone else can even see this place." She watched the eyes of the passersby as they seemed to slide right past the doorway in which she stood.

"They can't," her uncle said simply, "the Leaky Cauldron employs muggle-repelling charms."

"What's a muggle?" Sarah asked him, confused.

"Muggles are people who possess no magic."

"You have a word for that?" she asked, feeling indignant, "doesn't sound like a very nice word."

"It's not," Severus told her with a contemptuous sneer. Sarah was about to protest, when she thought, _I don't know why I'm standing up for them. No muggle ever did me a good turn._ And then she grinned-- already she was thinking with this new world, starting to use magical terms and think magical thoughts. _I wonder if Flourish and Blott's will have any good books on the wizarding world in general._

When she entered the store her uncle had told her carried the texts she would need for the up-coming year, Sarah paused to stare about her in awe. Magical posters flashed pictures of flying broomsticks and balls with golden wings. To her right lay a stack of fliers piled higher than her head, all sporting a moving picture of a demented-looking man who might have been handsome if not for the straight-jacket he wore. But best of all were the shelves, covered from ceiling to floor with books. Sarah _loved_ books, though she had never owned more than a few of her own before. Her bookishness had not endeared her to her family, but the escape that fairy tales and mysteries provided was always worth it.

"Wow," she breathed, taking in the enormous assortment of textbooks on every subject she had ever imagined and more.

Just then, she was jarred out of her revery by a sharp elbow in the back.

"Sorry,"

"Sorry!" her voice chorused with that of the boy who had bumped her. Turning, she found herself looking up into the eyes of a tall young man with bright orange hair. He smiled lopsidedly as a blush inched up from his collar to turn first his cheeks and then his ears pink.

"Didn't see you there," he said, ducking his head.

"Crowded, isn't it," she agreed with an easy smile, "I'm Sarah, Sarah Snape," she added.

"Ron," he replied, still not quite paying attention, "Ron Weas...Did you say Sarah _Snape_?" He asked suddenly. He stared intensely into her face as though looking for a smudge of dirt.

"Yeah, why?" she asked, confused at his rude manner.

"I..." he began and then trailed off as her uncle walked into Flourish and Blott's, "Professor!" he said, shocked.

"What are you doing, Sarah?" her uncle asked, ignoring the boy.

"Just looking for my school books, Uncle," she replied nervously. Dismayed, she watched as the nice boy backed up quickly and turned to disappear into the crowd.

"Then do it quickly," Severus said with a sour twist of his mouth, "I have no more wish to remain here very long than I wish to take a bubotuber puss bath."

"Yes, Uncle," she said quickly. Grabbing the book list that had come with her Hogwarts letter, she pushed forward through the crowd to find the storekeeper.

"Is he really your uncle?" The red-headed boy had returned.

"Yeah, why?" She asked, surprised again at his short manner.

"Wow, it's just," he paused and glanced sideways at her, "it's just that _you_ seem so nice."

"He's not that bad once you get to know him," Sarah informed him.

"I've _known_ him for 5 years," the boy named Ron said flatly, "and that's all I care to know him."

"Well," Sarah blushed, "actually, I've only known him for a few days, but he's been really kind to me."

"Kind?" the boy repeated incredulously, "what, did you live with giants before him, or something?"

Unconsciously, Sarah pulled at the sleeve covering her deepest scar, "I guess you could say that," she said in an almost-whisper.

"Sorry," the boy frowned down at her, "but I guess it must have been pretty bad, if you think Professor Snape is better."

"He's given me my own room, and he bought me an owl," she replied, suddenly feeling shy. This boy must be about 16, and she only 11! But he didn't seem to mind talking to her, "What did you say your name was again?" She asked.

"Ron, Ron Weasley,"

"Pleasure to meet you," she said with an extended hand.

He shook it, and then said, "Well, I guess I'll see you in September,"

"Right," she replied shyly.

"Good bye, Sarah Snape. Don't let your uncle curse you before end of holidays!" and with a friendly wave, he was gone.


End file.
